Man pinned under heavy table saw is rescued by firefighters

LACONIA — City firefighters had to rescue a man Wednesday after he became pinned against a wall by a heavy piece of carpentry equipment he was moving.

Fire Chief Kirk Beattie said the man was moving a table saw and stand down the stairs of a house on Locust Street when the equipment fell down the stairs, wedging the man between a wall and the bannister. The chief estimated the saw and stand, which were on top of the man’s chest, weighed 250 pounds.

The man, who was in his 80s, may have been pinned under the equipment for as long as two hours before a neighbor heard his cries for help. The neighbor got into the house by breaking a window and then called 9-1-1 once he discovered what had happened.

Beattie said the man’s injuries did not appear to be life-threatening.

He said it appeared the mishap occurred as the man was moving the saw down from the second floor of the house where he had been doing some work.

The chief said it took firefighters “a while” to free the man Wednesday afternoon.

The man, whose name was not released, was taken by ambulance to Lakes Region General Hospital.

“It looks like he will be all right,” Beattie said of the victim.

– Michael Mortensen